Mattress



Nov. 10, 1936. o, M BURT N 2,060,172

MATTRESS Filed March 25, 19:55

Patented Nov. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES MATTRESS Oliver M. Burton, Chicago, Ill., asslgnor to Burton-Dixie Corporation, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Delaware Application March 25, 1935, Serial No. 12,862

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to mattresses, bed-springs, cushions, and similar structures incorporatingpadded spring-assemblies, one of its leading objects and prime purposes being to provide a construction of this character which is economical to manufacture, which has its springunit efficiently padded for satisfactorily performing its functions, and whose side-walls or border of the encasing cover are properly supported and maintained in smooth, unwrinkled condition.

Structures of this type embodying elastic or resilient spring-assemblies, even though appropriately padded and cushioned, act somewhat differently from mattresses filled solely with curled hair, cotton felt or the like, in that the springs are resilient or elastic only in a vertical or up-and-down direction and have no substantial tendency to spread laterally; whereas hair or cotton filled mattresses or cushions tend to expand in all directions.

Because of this material difference in the characteristics and properties of the two types of structures, it has heretofore not been commercially feasible to make a spring-filled mattress with a smooth or plane, unquilted border, which would properly maintain its place and position and remain even and unwrinkled when the mattress was not occupied.

The instant invention results in the solution of such problem, the cost of manufacture, of course, being an important item.

Viewed somewhat difierently, this invention involves improvements in structing innerspring mattresses and similar cushions with pre-made borders, it having been heretofore customary, where pre-formed borders were supplied in connection with innerspring mattresses, to make the border preliminarily by quilting a padding to the outside border fabric, a liner fabric being used on the inner face of the padding. 1

The present improvement eliminates the necessity for quilting a padding to the exterior border fabric and it also avoids the need of the inside fabric liner.

In the new style of mattress or cushion, the padding, which extends around the border of the structure, is employed in such a manner as to back up or reenforce the pre-made exterior border fabric and the construction is such that the outside border fabric is pulled up or drawn taut and snugly up against the padding, thus giving a quilted padding effect to such outside fabric, although, of course, the latter does not have the appearance of having been quilted.

the manner of con- In addition, the new type of mattress has reenforcing cotton-padding along the top and bottom edges of the structure and enclosed within marginal portions of the top, bottom and border fabrics, thus providing a padded roll effect at the two edges of the border and affording suitable wearing cushions at these points as well as completing the smooth, upright, straight appearance of the border.

The general pleasing effect and presentation of the formation of the improved mattress are enhanced over the aspect of the ordinary premade border mattress due to its smooth surfaces, straight-line characteristics, padded backing along the center lines of the border of the mattress, and the absence of any empty or bulgingout effects.

The results of the employment of the principles of the present invention are an improved appearance in the structure with a saving in cost of both labor and materials as compared with the typical pre-made border mattress heretofore in common use.

To the attainment of these and other desirable objects, the present satisfactory, preferred embodiment of the invention has been evolved, and, in order that those skilled in this art may fully understand the same, the new mattress has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and to which reference should be had in connection with the following detailed description.

The single view of this drawing represents a vertical cross-section through a marginal portion only of the mattress.

Turning to such drawing, it will be perceived that the novel and improved mattress or cushion incorporates a spring-assembly II which may be made in any approved manner but which includes the usual multiplicity of upright spiral-springs, the marginal ones of which have been designated l2.

The top and bottom surfaces of such springunit may or may not be covered each with a sheet of textile fabric IS, the employment of which is a matter of discretion on the part of the manufacturer.

Overlying each such surface and its textile fabric cover, if such is used, is a layer or stratum ll of sisal or otherequivalent fibrous material,

the fibres of which are arranged to cross and interlock and interlace with one another more or less as is common practice, and the layer is stitched at intervals at 15 in any approved or well-known manner to secure the fibres of the several thin sisal layers or so-called veils together more adequately and more securely.

A thinner section I6 of such sisal, forming parts of the top and bottom strata, is folded over all four sides of the mattress border, and it is desirably, but not necessarily, tied or otherwise fastened at IT, I to the outer portions of the terminal-coils or end-rings of the marginal springs l2 of the unit, or to the border-wire |8 of the spring-unit.

Over the sisal-covered upper and lower surfaces, pads IS, IQ of cotton padding or its equivalent are positioned and thinner marginal sections 20 of the same are desirably folded over the sisalequipped border of the mattress.

The outer fabric-covering or tick comprises top and bottom textile fabric sheets 2|, 2| over the cotton-padding and a border textile fabric 22 located just outside of the border-padding I6, 20, such part 22 having stitched to its inner surface at 23, 23 the edges of two oblique or diagonal fabric strain-strips 24, 24, the other or opposite edges of which are stitched at 25, 25 to the inner surfaces of the upper and lower sheets 2|, 2| approximately in register with the margin or border-wire of the spring-assembly.

The unions of such strips 24, 24 with the border fabric 22 and with the upper and lower ticksheets 2 I, 2| are away from or somewhat inwardly from their edges, thereby leaving'free marginal flaps 26 and 21, the adjacent edges of which are sewed together at 28, 28 after rolls or sections of cotton-padding 29, 29 have been inserted between them to finish and cushion the top and bottom edges of the structure.

In actual practice, as preferably performed, the tick-covering is desirably made in the form of a pre-constructed envelope open at one end or at one side at which place the upper and lower and border fabric sheets are temporarily left unsewed together.

The padded spring-assembly, while maintained somewhat compressed, is introduced into such envelope or casing through its specified open end or side and then such opening is closed to conform to the other portions of the structure, while the corresponding parts of the padded cushion are maintained somewhat compacted or compressed; and, after that, the lengths 29, 29 of cotton are positioned in their proper places and are covered by the marginal sections 26, 21 of the top, bottom and border sheets, the edges of these thereupon being sewed together to enclose such edge paddings in the manner clearly indicated in the drawing.

In the finished or completed mattress or cushion, the spring-unit and its padding are somewhat condensed or compressed and the resulting strain imposed by the springs on the upper and lower fabrics is transmitted from them directly through the strain-strips 24, 24 to the external border-member 22, whereby the latter is maintained taut vertically with the assurance of resulting smoothness and pleasing appearance.

The sisal employed is very strong by reason of its own strength and also due to the interlocking or interweaving of its fibres, combined with the fact that they are additionally stitched together, and because they are fastened to the springassembly at IT, IT where they are bent around its edges, there is insurance that, at the border of the mattress, the cotton-padded sisal will form a satisfactory wall or backing for the borderfabric to bear against, thereby preventing inward deflection or wrinkling.

In some cases, it may be satisfactory to use the unpadded sisal alone around the border, but the employment of the cotton at this location renders the border of the mattress reasonably soft to the touch and there is no danger of any of the sisal fibres piercing through the encasing fabric.

Those acquainted with this art will readil understand how the stated objects of the invention are secured by the employment of the present improvements as detailed in this specification.

Although the following claim refers to sisal and cotton, it will, of course, be borne in mind that the invention is not limited or restricted to these particular materials and that their equivalents may in some instances be used as substitutes to advantage.

Other structural changes of minor or major character may be incorporated in the mattress or cushion without departure from the heart and essence of the invention and without the loss or sacrifice of any of its material benefits.

The employment of the invention is not limited to satisfactory use in mattresses only, but its principles may be resorted to in the making of box-springs, cushions of various types, and similar structures.

The novel and improved mattress or cushion may be made by either a stuffing method or by a build-up procedure.

When the stuffing method, which has been outlined briefiy above, is used, one of the strainstrips is sewed to the border-tick and to the toptick along all four sides of the mattress. Then the other or second strain-strip is sewed to the border-tick along all four sides and to the bottom-tick along three of its edges, and thereupon the padded spring-assembly, while compressed, is introduced into such pre-made fabric tick or envelope through the resulting open end or side. Thereafter, the remaining portion of the second strain-strip is sewed to that one side or end of the bottom-tick which attachment was previously omitted. Then the edge-pockets, formed by the marginal fabric sections 26, 21 and the strain-strips, are filled with the cotton lengths or sections 29, and after that the edges of the border and top and bottom ticks are sewed together at 28 to encase and confine such edge-paddings.

On the other hand, if the building-up procedure is employed, one of the strain-strips is sewed to the border-tick and to the top-tick along all four sides of the mattress. Then the other or second strain-strip is sewed to the border-tick along four of the sides of the mattress and to the bottom-tick along one side only. This having been accomplished and with such open cover or tick lying with the top-tick section on a buildup table with the outer face of such section down and with the bottom-tick thrown back out of the way, the cotton-padding 9 is placed in the cover on top of the inner side of the thus-inverted top-tick, then the sisal-padded spring-unit is put on top of such padding, and after that another layer of cotton padding I8 is positioned on top of the padded spring-assembly, whereupon the bottom-tick which had been sewed along only one side to the strain-strip is drawn 'over the built-up assembly, the last-mentioned strainstrip is sewed to the bottom-tick along the re- I claim:

In a mattress or the like, the combination of a spring-assembly incorporating a plurality of upright spiral-springs in substantially the same plane, a padding of sisal over the top and bottom and around the border of said spring-assembly, a padding of cotton over said top, bottom and border sisal, a fabric-envelope for said mattress comprising a tick-sheet covering the top of said padded spring-assembly, a tick-sheet covering the bottom of said padded spring-assembly, an external fabric covering the border of said padded spring-assembly, a pair of obliquely-disposed fabric strain-strips secured along their one edge to the inner face of said border-fabric inwardly remote from the longitudinal edges of the latter and secured along their opposite edges, the one to the inner face of said top tick-sheet and the other to the inner face of said bottom ticksheet, both adjacent to but spaced inwardly from the corresponding edges of said two tick-sheets and at points substantially in register with the margin of said spring-assembly, said strainstrips being no greater in width than the distance, in a straight line, between the points where they are fastened to said top and bottom tick-sheets and to said border-fabric, whereby the tendency of said padded spring-assembly to expand eonduces to the maintenance of said border-fabric in smooth and unwrinkled condition by reason of the strain imposed thereon by said top and bottom tick-sheets acting through said strain-strips, lengths of padding along the edges of the mattress in register with said strainstrips and enclosed by said strain-strips and the marginal portions of said border-fabric and of said top and bottom tick-sheets, the adjacent edges of said marginal portions being secured together to encase and confine said padding lengths within them.

OLIVER M. BURTON. 20 

